2020 Gove City-Quinter Tornado
The '''2020 Gove City-Quinter Tornado '''was an extremely large, violent, and catastrophic EF5 tornado that struck the cities of Gove City and Quinter, Kansas on the late evening of May 9, 2020. The twister made a direct hit on both cities, killing 27 people and injuring 193 others. Catastrophic damage was left behind, with homes and businesses completely destroyed. It is one the worst tornadoes in Kansas history, as well as one of the largest, being 2.1 miles wide at its peak. It was part of a larger, single day outbreak of tornadoes that affected the Great Plains. The Tornado The tornado was spawned from a supercell that had produced an EF3 tornado near Elkader. It first touched down over an open field at 10:37PM. The tornado began moving northeast towards Gove City, producing no damage over the open farmlands. Storm Chasers reported seeing it as a large stovepipe tornado headed for Gove City, and thus, a PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) TORR was issued. The stovepipe tornado continued northeast before it cut right through the middle of the town at 10:42PM, leaving behind devastating damage. Every home and business in the town was damaged from the strong winds, including some that were destroyed. Most of the damage in the town was EF2-EF3 damage, however, 2 well built homes near the center of the town were leveled and partially swept away, warranting a rating of EF4 there. The county sheriff office was nearly destroyed by the tornado. Aside from the buildings, trees and power lines were downed, and cars were thrown. The twister spent nearly 2 minutes in the town, and it left 3 people dead and injured 19 others, 2 of them critically. After exiting the town, the tornado weakened and once again, tracked northeast over an unpopulated area. Storm Chasers reported that the tornado had become a rope tornado. As the tornado tracked over the unpopulated area, it began restrengthening and growing in size. The twister crossed Route 503, throwing 2 cars off the road. 2 occupants in one car were killed; the occupants in the other car were seriously injured, but survived. The tornado continued northeast towards Quinter, still strengthening and growing in size. Storm Chasers reported that it had grown to at least 2 miles wide, and mobile weather radars recorded wind speeds of more than 220MPH. Several satellite tornadoes were seen around the tornado. The National Weather Service office in Goodland, Kansas, issued a Tornado Emergency for Quinter at 10:55PM. The tornado shrunk in size a bit, but still remained an extremely large wedge and continued northeast towards Quinter. The tornado crossed I-70 before it made a direct hit on Quinter at 11:02PM. Catastrophic damage occurred in Quinter, as the town was essentially leveled. Not a single structure was left untouched, mainly due to the twisters enormous size. At the southwest side of town, several well built homes were completely swept away, with little to no debris left behind. This warranted the EF5 rating. The twister weakened after striking these homes, although it still remained violent. In the town itself, homes and businesses were severely damaged or completely destroyed. The Gove County Medical Center was left in a terrible state following the twister. The Quinter Elementary and Junior-Senior high school was left in ruins, as were several churches in the town. Brief EF5 damage was recorded around the intersection of W4TH Street and Grant Street, and damage after that was in the EF2-EF4 range. Mobile Homes in the town were completely destroyed, trees were uprooted and debarked, power lines were brought down, and ground scouring took place. The twister exited the town to the Northeast, where it rapidly weakened and dissipated over open farmland. In Quinter alone, 22 people were killed and 172 others were hurt, many of them critically. Casualties and Damage In total, 27 people died, and 193 others were hurt, many critically. Many of the fatalities were in mobile homes and cars. It was the deadliest tornado and the first EF5 in Kansas since the Greensburg tornado in 2007. Damage wise, a total of 576 homes and businesses were damaged. 232 of those were destroyed. Power was knocked out to much of Gove County following the tornado, as well as the neighboring counties of Sheridan and Trego. In total, at least $1.85 billion dollars in damages was left behind, making it the single costliest tornado in Kansas history. Aftermath In the aftermath of the tornado, Gove City and Quinter were essentially cut off from the outside world due to communications being cut by the tornado. The full extent of the damage was not known until the next morning. Rescue Crews had a hard time getting to the towns due to debris blocking the only roads. I-70 was shut down both ways for 2 miles near Quinter due to the damage it received while the tornado crossed over it. Because of the severe damage left across the entire state of Kansas from the severe weather outbreak, a state of emergency was declared. Gove County was eventually placed under a disaster declaration, allowing residents to receive federal funding. It is expected to take years for the towns to make a full recovery from the disaster. Category:Tornadoes Category:F5/EF5 Tornadoes Category:Violent Tornadoes Category:Deadly Tornadoes Category:Costly Tornadoes Category:Catastrophic Tornadoes